Deadline
by JasperSapph
Summary: Ryan has a bet with Sharpay that he can get Troy to admit his  homosexuality within three months. As it happens the sly Drama king has a few tricks up his sleeve. Will feelings develop, and will Troy find out about the bet?   TRYAN!Slash!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Bet**

It was Monday evening rehearsals in the auditorium and two people sat in the back row, their heads close together. Ryan and Sharpay were having a heated discussion.

"I'm telling you Ryan," hissed Sharpay.

"There's no way Troy Bolton is _gay," _she laughed incredulously. She patted her brothers shoulder pityingly as if he was being a pathetic five year old. Ryan was staring ahead, his mouth slightly open in a concentrated sort of way. Curiously Sharpay followed his line of vision, she saw Troy dancing to a fast piece of music on stage, wearing a tight fitted vest. Sharpey stared too.

"I mean look," she said diplomatically, wrenching her concentration back to Ryan.

"His movements are _far_ too stiff," she demonstrated with her hands, knocking Ryan's hat out of place. He still didn't move. Sharpay sighed, resenting that her own brother was ignoring her. She took an emory board from her purse and began to file her nails with exaggerated movements.

"One hundred dollars," Ryan suddenly said, turning right around to face Sharpay. She didn't look up from her nails, "'scuse me, but what are you babbling about?" her voice was bored and dull. Ryan slyly noticed she had paused the grooming of her nails and that her eyes were fixed still.

"Hundred dollars says I'll get a full confession off Bolton in three months," he said, casting a sneaky glance at her. Sharpay considered it for a moment, looking back at the stage again. She observed Troy skittering about with narrowed eyes.

"Deal!" she agreed confidently, linking pinky fingers with him.

The bell rang ,signaling that free period was over, people began to filter out of the theater. Sharpay hurried up behind Ryan as he made for the exit.

"Let the games begin," she whispered in his ear and then pushed past him, swaying her hips as she walked. Ryan shook his head and followed her.

**NEXT DAY :**

"Embrace your inner soul and welcome the spirit of drama. Spread your wings and take flight along the clouds, rise to the top on the hot jets of success. For you're all budding stars. Waiting to blossom !" cried Miss Darbus, her arms spread wide to the theater. Everyone gave a polite murmur and then settled down again,to the sound of paper being ruffled.

"I've made a slight change to the narrative," she said, handing out new scripts. "It was all the idea of a student who wishes to remain anonymous," Sharpay looked meaningfully at Ryan and he glanced away immediately. As the members of the musical studied their scripts there was a chatter of interest. Miss Darbus started again, "I thought it would be interesting to study the opinions about homosexuality in the era of Victorian Britain. So instead of the characters Johnathan and Elizabeth, played by Troy and Sharpay. I have edited the cast list and the characters to fit the new script." she paused and looked over the top of her glasses at the students, as if daring anyone to object.

"So the new narrative is as follows; Victorian Britain. And two homosexuals, Johnathan and Martin try to deny their love for each other out of fear. Soon their love transcends and they begin a relationship. In the tragic end, Johnathan is persecuted and beaten to death by a private police force . Martin peruses the case and stands up for gay rights. Simple?" she said expectantly. A stunned silence returned from the students. Sharpay looked pleasantly surprised, Ryan was smirking and Troy looked mortified. Miss Darbus shook a crease out of her notes and took a deep breath.

"The cast..." everybody in the auditorium held their breath, "are as follows:

Johnathan Wilkes: Troy Bolton

Martin Doyle: Ryan Evans

Johnathan's Wife: Sharpay Evans..."

That was all Ryan needed to hear. He sank back into his seat with a smug grin and watched the backs of Troy's ears go pink.

Sharpay seemed to be in shock throughout the rest of rehearsal. Ryan knew it was the first time she'd ever been third on the cast list. They had always been paired off together at the top of the rank, but now things were changing.

"Act four, scene three if you please!" called Miss Darbus briskly, taking a quick referral to her notes. Ryan shot up like a lark and hurried away, he nearly bumped into Troy on the way to the stage. Ryan smiled and then sidestepped around him. This was the act where they kiss in the rain. Ryan had thought about it many times. He decided to be robot like, almost the way a surgeon makes an incision in a body. After all Troy looked like he wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground, there was no point in them both being bashful. Miss Darbus made a gesture with her hand, to hurry them on. Eventually Troy stumbled his way onto the stage and looked at his feet, script dangling weakly by his side. Ryan cleared his throat.

"I couldn't wait to see you," he read, his voice hinted with agony. Ryan took a step forwards, with the bold footsteps his character demanded.

"I'm crazy for doing this" Troy replied flatly. Standing stock still, his shoulders stiff and rigid.

"NO!" roared Miss Darbus, shaking her head and hands at the same time.

"Where do you think you are Troy?" she said, taking her glasses off so her eyes looked considerably smaller, almost like she was squinting. He shuffled his feet.

"More passion!, imagine Ryan is a woman- the love of your life- if it helps!" she said in exasperation and dimmed the lights again.

Troy concentrated fiercely, his stomach felt like it was hosting a tea party of rhinos. Ryan repeated his line, stepping closer again, his eyes burning madly with passion. Troy gulped, this felt wrong, oh so wrong. What would the guys say if they ever saw this?

"I'm crazy for doing this," he replied huskily, hating how true his voice sounded. Suddenly Troy felt the avid attention of everybody in the theater. He risked a glance at Ryan, who looked completely comfortable. It was okay for him, he was gay anyway.

Ryan stepped up to him and snaked a hand around Troy's waist, yanking him against his own body. He gazed intently at he freckles on Troy's nose, fighting the urge to keep a serious face.

'_How cute'_ he thought.

"What if somebody sees...u-" Troy's face was a darker shade of crimson now. Ryan pressed his long finger against his lips. It felt cool against his heated skin.

"Stop what-iffing, just don't speak," he said after a quick glance at his script. It was time for that moment. The stage kiss Troy had been dreading, he felt Ryan's finger trace the outline of his lips, and then that pair of icy blue eyes swam dangerously close. Troy felt himself being dipped over, a hand on the small of his back rubbing small circles, down . Down. Down. Hot minty breath blew in his face, and then ...the bell rang. Troy jerked his head to the side so Ryan's kiss landed on his cheek. Feeling like a bag of nerves he stood up straight, took a step back from the drama King, and rushed off the stage. His knees knocked together as he grabbed his bag and practically sprinted from the auditorium into the main flood of students in the hall.

Ryan smirked at Sharpay, however a strange feeling of reject stirred inside of him. He brushed it off and thought about how fun the next rehearsals would be.

**A/N: Oh well, what do you think? I can promise More excitement to come! It's not just going to be a brainless dribble. It will get interesting later, so be patient! XD**

**(p.s-when I sign my name as Gabriella, that is actually my name. I'm not trying to be like the character...oh yeah and take into consideration I haven't seen HSM2...i only watched the first one yesterday) **

**Much Love!**

**Gabriella **


	2. The Musings Of A Musical Mastermind

**Chapter 2: ****The Musings of a Musical Mastermind**

**A/N: **** Okay chapter 2. Thanks to the people who actually reviewed, and to the people who favorited it but didn't review...please leave one this time :) . They make me want to write more! **

**Note to flammers: Burn me, I burn you back. **

**Disclaimer: I Own nothin' you recognize from HSM!**

Ryan wandered through the halls, in no particular rush to get to rehearsals. Better to arrive fashionably late then desperately early. He hummed a tune under his breath, and ran his hand over the rail as he descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. He recited his lines in his head again, skipping slightly down the hall as he shuffled his feet and spiraled on one foot to the beat he was clicking with his fingers.

His mind wandered as he thought about the way Troy had looked yesterday, bent over his arm, but positively horrified. Ryan was starting to think it was damn near impossible to draw a confession from him. After all, jocks don't admit their homosexuality everyday. It was going to take some clever planning. Picking up his pace he started jogging down the brightly lit corridor, suddenly eager to get to rehearsal.

Ryan burst into the theater, breathing in the familiar smell of paint and wood. He trotted down the steps, thumping a little and reached Miss Darbus' desk, gasping. He shifted his feet on the carpet, and caught his breath.

"I'm Here," he gasped, patting his hat into place, as he smiled at Sharpay. She gave him a disgusted look from the stands and started reading her script with a sulky expression. Miss Darbus gave Ryan a dark look and stabbed at her notes with the tip of her finger.

"Start where we finished yesterday," she told him and then took a long sip of water.

Ryan bounded onto stage, happily jogging on the spot and the shaking his limbs out. He gazed at Troy who was fiddling about with the CD player behind the curtain. Ryan crept up behind him, stepping quickly and lightly so his feet made little noise. He shuffled up very close and the tapped him on the shoulder. Troy started in fright and wheeled around, finding himself almost nose to nose with Ryan.

"We need you on stage..._right now_," he said, smirking slightly and hurrying back out into the lights streaming down onto the main stage area. Troy followed him like a lost puppy, his head looking determinedly at his feet. He cleared his throat. He was NOT going to be bullied by Evans again today, Troy vowed to himself. He straightened his back and got into character, sighing as he watched Ryan warm up his voice. He was NOT someone to be pushed around, especially not by some jumped up puff who spends his days in leotards.

"Okay!" called Miss Darbus, her voice carrying through the vast hall.

"Act four, scene three again please boys!"

Troy nodded, and huddled his shoulders low, loosing himself in his character, Johnathan Wilkes. The shy ,quiet and submissive one. Troy waited for Ryan to make the first move of the evening. As the script instructed, Ryan stepped forwards, eyes blazing. However as he got less than a few paces away he let out an almighty yelp. Doubling over he cried out again.

"Cramp in my leg," he whimpered, clutching at his thigh. Miss Darbus let out a huff of exasperation. Ryan straightened up gingerly, his face scrunched up in agony as he looked at Troy with a pleading look.

"Can you help me stretch it out?" he asked in a small voice, eyes welling up.

Far back in the seats Sharpay noticed Ryan's clever crocodile tears and let her mouth drop open. So he was playing dirty now. She folded her arms and pouted, trying to think of something equally as cunning.

Troy didn't know what to say, he'd had cramp plenty of times in practice, and knew just how painful it could be. So ,feeling sorry for Ryan he helped him to sit down and held his foot tight against the floor, the affected leg outstretched and his good one bent. Ryan groaned in a low rumble and reached forwards, grasping the top of his outstretched foot and lying his body flat on top of it as he gently pulled his foot up. The back of his shirt rose up, exposing a long pale back, well toned and defined. Troy couldn't help but look.

Ryan straightened up suddenly, and groaned again. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Could you just massage my leg for a second?" he asked.

Troy gazed at his drama partner with narrowed eyes, and was only met with a sincere look. Finally deciding that Ryan had no ulterior motive he gently took hold of his thigh and began to rub small circles around it. Putting pressure on it every now and again.

"Better?" he asked Ryan, watching the blond shake his head and close his eyes. Troy massaged a little bit lower, becoming slightly wary. Ryan bit his lip involuntary and then...

"If you boys showed that much care for each other on stage, We'd having a winner!" cried Miss Darbus, her lips pursed , Sharpay was hovering smugly by her shoulder.

Troy ripped his hands back off Ryan's leg as if he had been burned and stood up again, coughing as he did so.

Ryan stood up slowly too, his face bright pink. He had lost control of the situation and probably cost him his cover with the cramp act. Still it felt so nice. He looked at his feet, loosing all his previous confidence.

NEXT DAY:

Troy sat in calculus class, unusually subdued, and refused to to join in the class's fooling about. He was watching a certain blond boy sat three seats in front, talking animatedly to his sister. He looked very happy from the way his eyes crinkled in the corner and the his mouth twitched when he tried not to laugh. Troy couldn't help but smile too, looking down at his pencil case as he chuckled to himself.

It wasn't until the teacher came in that Troy felt the dreaded worry again. He had been asked to run an errand, with Ryan, to the store cupboard. So now they both stood confined in the tight space, their chest toughing and legs tangled.

" I can't reach that!" Troy said sighing as he pointed to box on the top shelf. Ryan shook his head, "me neither," they both looked at each other and laughed.

"Gimme a boost?" Troy asked. Ryan dropped to his knees immediately and cupped his hands together. Troy stepped on his hands and reached up high ,his fingers just scrabbling the edge of the box. Then he started to slip back down again. But not before Ryan grabbed both of his legs and lifted him back up again, grunting with effort.

Ryan couldn't help but notice the way Troy's pants had ridden down low on his hips, exposing the waistband of blue plaid boxer. He grinned, and then the smile vanished as he faltered on his feet, loosing his grip on Troy so they both went crashing to the floor, boxes falling around their heads.

**A/N: ****Short chapter for now, I write more tomorrow!**

**Much Love! XxX**

**Gabriella **


	3. The Prank

**Sometimes It's best to Have Fun:**

**A/N: **** So things are heating up a little! Thanks to the people who reviewed, it brought a smile to my face. Especially thanks to Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul who's review really gave me a kick up the bum so to speak. There's a major metaphor in here, so look out for it!**

**Warnings: Some abuse in this chapter, just to let you know. **

**Disclaimer: Do I ever own anything?**

Tick tock, tick tock. The clock counted down in steady slows clicks. Time is an inevitable thing. The big hand and the little hand always turn the same way, and the seconds always mount to minutes-minutes to hours.

Clouds brew in the ink wash sky, and a stifled flash of lightening illuminated the world every few minutes. A warm moisture had started to sink low over Albuquerque, the air seemed alive with static. It was on that day when the wind blew hot, then

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Troy my man!" called Chad, slapping Troy on the back in greeting. They both dodged and upturned drain.

"What's up?" Troy asked cheerfully as they sat down on the edge of the fountain. Chad grinned at him, setting his basketball at his feet.

"Oh, loads. You know that Evans dude?" he said ,eyes sparkling. Troy looked down at the palms of his hands and frowned.

"You mean Ryan?" he corrected. Chad raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head.

"Who cares man?" Troy shrugged nonchalantly and fell silent again, gazing at his feet. Chad gave him a sideways glance, "Well some of the guys are planning the ultimate humiliation at lunch!" Chad said in a rush, his voice tainted with wild excitement. Troy felt his stomach sink. And then the part that he had been dreading:-

"You in?" asked Chad, eyes boring expectantly into Troy's, who shifted around uncomfortably. He looked over the lush green lawns and clusters of students, dotted around. If only the bell would ring.

"Yeah sure," he said finally when he feared Chad had smelt a rat. Troy sighed unhappily and looked up at the brilliant blue sky. He squinted and used one of his hands to shade his eyes as the wind blew a gust of warm air that ruffled his hair. Chad gave him a nod of respect and then grinned. Quickly his smile faded when he spotted Sharpay and her equally annoying brother chatting close by, Ryan was looking at them curiously his lips pursed. He nudged Troy with his elbow, alerting the boy from his daydream.

"Huh?" grunted Troy.

"You better watch out man, I think the fag has a crush on you!" Chad cackled and yanked him up by the elbow as the bell rang. Troy gave a weak burst of laughter and followed his friend, face burning.

The rest of the day went past far too fast for Troy's liking and before he even knew it lunch had arrived in a blur of colour and nerves.

The lunch line was long, noisy and cramped.

Troy waited restlessly on the edge of the of the cafeteria , twisting a woolly grey bobble hat in his hands. He scanned the endless hoards of students for a certain afroed friend. As if connected by though Chad appeared at his elbow bearing a tray groaning with what looked like the entire lunch menu. Jelly, curry fires, milk, soda, custard, cake, baked beans, tomato ketchup, soup, pickled beetroot , tea and coffee. Troy's stomach lurched dangerously. He looked up at Chad with a sickened expression ,who nodded meaningfully.

"We're gonna dump this, on the Evans homo!" Chad said ,as if he was revealing a punchline to a joke. Troy tried to muster up a chuckle but it came out like a gagging cough.

"And you know the rest?" Chad asked expectantly, his eyebrows rising almost to the point where they were beneath his bushy hairline. Troy clapped a hand to his friend's shoulder.

"Yah, I got it, don't worry man," Troy assured him with a small smirk, he waved the bobble hat in Chad's face and then stuffed it in his pocket. He scanned the crowd for their target. It didn't take long to see Ryan sat on the top level of the cafeteria, staring off into space. He was wearing a black baker boy cap, a plain white button down shirt and black jeans. Troy knew his own t-shirt and pants looked boyish and scruffy compared to Ryan's sophisticated attire. He began to pick at a loose thread trailing from the hem of his shirt , and then Chad dug him in the ribs with his pointy elbow.

"Let's go, the target is unsuspecting," Chad glanced at his watch and then gave Troy another nudge with his elbow, "Go!" he said and then disappeared into the crowd of students. Troy was left alone to motivate himself . He took a deep breath and danced through the crowd to the staircase. As always it was difficult to gain access to the stairs with nearly the whole drama club practicing on them.

Finally with what seemed like a thousand mutters of "Excuse me," and "If you could just..." Troy was on the top floor. He concealed himself behind a support pillar and glanced around for Chad. He winked at Troy conspicuously from across the room, standing in full view.

"_So much for discretion," _thought Troy and pulled the bobble had from his pocket. He really didn't want to be seen holding the gross garment, so the quicker her got rid of it the better. Troy crept up to Ryan's table and sat down in between him and Sharpay.

"H-hey," he said, turning a shade of puce. Ryan and Sharpay both gave him the same gob smacked look ,and then raised their eyebrows at each other. Troy made sure he kept his hands, and the hat well under the table.

"Well Troy," Sharpay said in a sickly sweet voice, her eyes glinted dangerously.

"What brings you here?" she asked, gave a little giggle and then cocking her head to one side. Troy gulped and looked at Ryan, who seemed to be having trouble keeping down a fit of laughter. He quickly looked away , just in time to see Chad walking towards them. Ryan took a quick glance under the table, spotted the hat and put two and two together.

He leaped backwards out of his seat just as Chad "tripped". The tray soared through the air, and in it's way was Troy. Nearly all the food ended up splattered on Troy's clothes and face, on the floor and even a little bit on Sharpay. She let out a car stopping screech and Ryan stood a few meters back, with a smug smirk. He pulled his hat down further over his eyes and then slipped discretely from the scene.

Troy sat quite still his hands poised up in front of his face in an attempt to shield his eyes. He blinked once, twice and then groaned. So much for a master plan. He glared at Chad and then mouthed "You're dead," at him.

Troy brushed beans from his forehead and hissed as he started to feel the hot tea and coffee scorch his skin. Sharpay seemed to be hyperventilating next to him. She grabbed the front of Troy's shirt and yanked it close.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she hissed, giving him a small shake and the releasing him. She huffed loudly and stormed from the table, knocking over a can of soda in her wake. Troy watched her stomp through the cafeteria until the double doors swung shut behind her. He stood up, peeling his shirt from his skin and thumped the grey hat into Chad's chest.

"Nice plan," he growled lowly and retraced Sharpay's footsteps shaking his head and trying to block out the hundreds of pairs of eyes that were following him.

Troy stood in the toilets. The taps were running full blast and he was dabbing at his face with damp paper towels, trying to remove most of the stains. He sighed angrily, pulled his t-shirt off completely, and threw it in the bin with an angry shout. He looked down at the reddened skin on his arms and chest where the hot drinks had burned him. He yanked a few more paper towels out of the dispenser and ran them under the taps. He squeezed out the excess water and then pressed them onto his stomach, watching his face twist with discomfort in the mirror. Troy sighed and picked a bit of pink jelly out of his hair. **(( A/N:XD you guys remember that?))**

Suddenly the door of the men's toilets swung open and smashed against the wall behind it. Troy jumped in fright and dropped the towel to the floor with a wet squelch. Ryan appeared framed in the doorway. He chuckled and took his hat off. He smoothed his hair down and replaced it again.

"You master plan didn't work then?" he said and then put his bag on the counter top, casting a sideways glance at Troy, who looked mortified again. Ryan threw a small grey tub with a red label at him.

"It's for burns," he explained as Troy flicked the lid off , sniffed the white paste inside and recoiled. Ryan continued to rummage in his bag as he spoke.

"Thing is Troy," he said pulling out a folded square of cloth. He threw it to Troy who just had time to replace the lid on the cream to catch the t-shirt. Troy took a discrete glance at the label and his eyebrows rose spontaneously. Ryan giggled at Troy's impressed face, and then coughed, expelling his laughter. He handed a white fluffy towel to him and then zipped up his bag. Ryan leaned against the wall and watched Troy dab a small amount of the paste on is arm.

"Just forget what happened in the store cupboard yesterday, I honestly didn't mean it," Ryan shrugged, shuffling his feet in their black Italian leather shoes. Troy didn't respond he just ran a corner of the towel under the tap and scrubbed at his face, evidentially pretending he couldn't hear him.

A few minutes of silence later and Troy was clothed in Ryan's navy blue t-shirt, his burns considerably cooler under their coating of white healing paste. He smiled at Ryan, "Thanks for that," he said. The t-shirt was slightly more snug than he usually liked, but he was thankful to have _something _to wear. He held out his hand for Ryan, who looked slightly puzzled and then shook Troy's hand firmly.

They both walked awkwardly through the halls. Troy cleared his throat, "So we might as well ditch for the rest of the day," he sighed looking down at his watch.

They both exited through the gym and snook around to the car park where Troy fumbled for his keys. They both got in the car and sat in silence as Troy leaned over to Ryan, their faces dangerously close once again. ...

**A/N: ****MWUHAHAHA...are they going to do what you think they might? You'll have to wait and see! XD **

**I've finally seem HSM2, thanks Stace for letting me commandeer your television for two days now!**

**Well Don't forget to review, and sorry this chapter is rushed, I got fed up of it. **

**Gabriella**


	4. Just getting Started :part 1

**Just Getting Started:(part 1)**

**A/N: S****o guys, another chapter for you. **

**In my last chapter I've realized that I didn't make things as clear as they should have been. Hopefully the two parts of this update will answer your quires, if not feel free to nag the hell out of me. **

**Also excuse the rate the chapters are being produced now, I have coursework to be dealing with too. **

**Much Love!**

Troy reached over Ryan and gave the passenger side door and extra hard tug. His brow was furrowed with effort as he straightened back out again. He planted his hands on the steering wheel and backed out of the parking space. Ryan was rigid in his seat. His eyes stared wide and frozen out of the windshield. Again, an uncomfortable silence crept into the truck.

Troy glanced left and flicked his indicators on as he waited at a junction. Techni-coloured traffic whizzed past them.

"Sorry 'bout that," Troy said apologetically, fiddling with the many dials on the dashboard.

"The door's a bit dodgy," he said ,tuning the radio in and shouting over the white noise and distant boom of a presenters voice. He turned his attention back to the road when the rest of the traffic began to pull off. Loud obnoxious pop music filled the cab as a signal was caught on the aerial.

When the second track had finished Ryan turned the volume down until it just buzzed in the background.

"Where are we going?" he asked dully. Troy shrugged and blasted through a set of amber traffic lights before they could flash red. He shook his hair from his eyes.

"It's just a place I used to visit when I was a kid, nobody goes there this time of year," he paused for a moment and then added on , "it's one of the only peaceful place I have left,"Ryan nodded and flashed a polite smile, but he interrupted with an air of irritation.

"Your dad works in the school," he pointed out with a frown. He fixed Troy with a piercing gaze that seemed to be the human equivalent of an x-ray.

"You're crazy to ditch class," he mumbled staring absently out of the window. Troy laughed darkly and turned onto a deserted stretch of road, dusty banks ran either side of it. Ryan snapped his head back over, his attention captivated again.

"What?" he demanded. Troy purposely ignored him ,pretending to be concentrating on driving, even though there was no traffic at all and the road was poker straight.

For the rest of the journey both boys sat devoid of any conversation. After an eternity the truck slowed to a halt.

"We're here," Troy said sliding out of the ruck and slamming the door. Ryan listened to his footsteps crunch on the gravel and then freed himself of his seatbelt. He sighed heavily and then pulled the catch to open his door. Nothing happened. He tried again, but the door didn't budge. Ryan shoved the heal of his right hand at the metal frame while the other yanked at the catch furiously.

"_crap!_" he hissed, starting to panic. He glanced over the driver side door and then slid over. Bits of the car stuck into his hips painfully but eventually he was sat in the drivers seat. It was still warm from the short time it took for Troy to drive him here. He bit his lip and then opened the door, sliding out into the air. By no means was it a fresh day, the air was hot and heavy. There was no breeze.

By the time he'd caught up to Troy his shirt was already sticking to his back.

"Hey," he gasped, bending over and clutching the top of his knees while he caught his breath. Troy gave his an incredulous look.

"You're out of breath already?" he laughed tauntingly. Troy carried on walking not stopping to wait for him.

"No!" Ryan said defensively, appearing by his side. He had his lips slightly parted, taking in steady controlled breaths. Troy chuckled and shook his head.

"Liar," he shot, back pushing Ryan away harshly by the shoulder. He staggered off the path and then righted himself.

"Stop it man," He demanded gathering his balance again and falling back into pace with Troy. He laughed and stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets.

The gravel was starting to run into a patchy grassy field and trees lined the outskirts. Clouds were starting to creep over the sun. The shade it provided was a welcomed comfort for the two boy's squinting eyes.

"Can you hear it?" Troy asked suddenly, his laughter died on his lips and gave way to genuine curiosity. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Hear what?" he replied , his face hardened as he strained his eyes to pick up any hint of noise. His own breathing and birds twittering was the only thing he heard. He shook his head.

"The river," Troy replied walking a bit quicker. He glanced over his shoulder, "come on!" he called out to Ryan as he cut across the field. Ryan ran after him , his chest heaving.

---------------------

"Your car is crap," Ryan said arrogantly twisting a long piece of grass around his finger. He cast a sideways glance at Troy and grinned. Troy nodded,a slightly offended smile playing on his face.

"It gets me around town though," he said defensively, "hey at least I don't have to catch a ride in my sister's _pink_ car!" he laughed, earning himself a thump on the shoulder. He rubbed his arm but still grinned smugly.

"Hey," he said, jabbing Ryan slightly harder than necessary. He pointed at a gap in the trees. The sound of running water was much louder here.

"There it is," Troy ducked into the vegetation. Ryan stared blankly at him.

"What?" he mumbled just a fraction too late. He rolled his eyes at the clouded sky and followed.

Ryan stood in shocked silence. It was like he'd stepped into an alternate universe.  
There must have been a break in the clouds because suddenly glittering sunlight filtered through the trees and made everything sparkle. The river was huge, fast and furious. It gurgled over stones and rushed down stream. They were both stood on a pebbled bank. Troy reached down a plucked a stone from the ground. He weighed it in his hand and then threw it gently into the river. The sound was lost as Hundreds of liters of water swept it away. He stood squarely in front of Ryan.

"Earth to Ryan," he teased, waving his hand in front of his eyes and snickering. Troy frowned when he didn't respond.

"Hey, What's up?" he asked, sitting down on a huge mossy boulder. He patted the bare rock next to him. Ryan sat down blankly. He was still staring at the river.

"Nothing," he replied blinking himself out of his trance.

"It's ...nice here," he said uncomfortably. He stood up and bent over to pick up a pebble. Troy roared with laughter. The seat of Ryan's trousers had a dark damp stain from the boulder. His eyes streamed with tears as he tried to gather his control again.

"What!?" Ryan persisted angrily, his neck craned over his shoulder as he turned in a full circle. Troy coughed and gasped.

"Your ass," he roared, "is soaking," Troy buried his face in his hands, shoulders shuddering.

"has ickle Ryan had a little accident?" he cooed mockingly. Ryan glared furiously at him.

"That's it!" he stormed over and grabbed Troy by the shoulders.

"Stand up!" he demanded. Troy did so with difficulty, still trying to gain his composure. Ryan swung around so he could see the other boy's offending wet patch. Troy's jeans were spotless.

"Ha see you've got-" Ryan cut off staring blankly at Troy's backside.

"Completely spotless jeans?" he supplied cockily. Ryan gazed at him with one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"How?" he spluttered looking down at the boulder they had been sat on.

"I sat on my jacket," Troy explained with a grin. He tried to brush a food stain off it.

"It's already ruined," he sighed letting it drop back onto their makeshift seat. Ryan frowned childishly, making Troy laugh even more. He went over to the other side of the clearing and stood facing Troy so the wet patch was concealed in the bushes.

A light bulb seemed to flick on behind his eyes.

"Troy!" he called, squatting down and slyly pretending he'd found something of interest.

"Look at this," he said, glancing up at Troy with that x-ray gaze again.

He squatted down opposite Ryan with his back facing the river, heels just resting on the mushy banking.

"what?" Troy asked with excitement. Ryan fought to keep his face straight.

"This!" he cried and shoved Troy's shoulders with all his might. Troy's eyes went as wide a dinner plates and he windmilled his arms, trying to balance. Ryan gave him another experimental push. That was all it took for Troy to land, rear first in the river. He sat still, a mask of pure shock on his face.

"Cold," he gasped, struggling to get up, "_ass-hole!_" he hissed, pulling himself back onto the bank, his nails dug into the earth, embedding dirt under them. He resembled a drowned rat, and now it was Ryan's turn to laugh. He didn't just _laugh_ though, he howled and hooted.

Troy plucked at his sopping shirt, trying to stop it from sticking to his skin. Goose pimples erupted all over his body and his teeth chattered spontaneously.

"I-c-can't believe you d-did that!" he spat, pulling his shirt over his head and twisting the water out of it. He draped it over a branch to dry out. Ryan grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"You got some crap in your hair," he pointed out. Troy flattened his hands to his head.

"Where?" he asked, raking his nails through it. Ryan sighed and got up.

"here," he said, plucking green weed from Troy's head.

Troy gulped noticeably.

"Uh thanks," he muttered in a voice that seemed too loud in the suddenly quite clearing. He took a step back.

"That's two outfits I've ruined in one day!" he laughed nervously. Ryan didn't laugh with him.


	5. Just getting Started :part 2

**A/N: ****Next chapter! It's gonna be short since I split it up into two parts. **

**I just wanna say the people who read (and reviewed) the previous chapters rock! Don't forget to scribble a little comment this time! Oh, and enjoy! D**

Troy averted his eyes and shifted his feet over the pebbles below him. They scraped against each other with a toe curling crunch.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said, monotonous. He sighed and sat down on the boulder again. Troy raised his gaze, a little pucker of confusion on his brow.

"For what?" he asked, the air chilling his bare skin. He plucked some bark off the tree next to him.

"For ...what happened in the store cupboard the other day," Ryan chewed on the inside of his cheek and stared at his hands which were balled into fists in his lap.

"I didn't mean to drop you... or anything," he explained slowly. Troy crunched over to Ryan and sat down next to him. He remembered that day Ryan and himself had been asked to run an errand.

**((A/N: beware, flashback!!!))**

_It wasn't until the teacher came in that Troy felt the dreaded worry again. He had been asked to run an errand, with Ryan, to the store cupboard. So now they both stood confined in the tight space, their chest toughing and legs tangled._

" _I can't reach that!" Troy said sighing as he pointed to box on the top shelf. Ryan shook his head, "me neither," they both looked at each other and laughed._

"_Gimme a boost?" Troy asked. Ryan dropped to his knees immediately and cupped his hands together. Troy stepped on his hands and reached up high ,his fingers just scrabbling the edge of the box. Then he started to slip back down again. But not before Ryan grabbed both of his legs and lifted him back up again, grunting with effort._

_Ryan couldn't help but notice the way Troy's pants had ridden down low on his hips, exposing the waistband of blue plaid boxer. He grinned, and then the smile vanished as he faltered on his feet, loosing his grip on Troy so they both went crashing to the floor, boxes falling around their heads._

_Ryan yelped as Troy landed on his legs. He threw his hands over his head as boxes tumbled like rain upon him. He heard a dull thwack followed by a pained cry. Vaguely he wondered what had happened as the last sheet of paper fluttered down. Carefully unfolding his arms from his head he looked up at the high shelves, wondering if they would tumble. _

"_ugghh," Troy groaned from beside him, he was clutching his head with two hands like it was in danger falling apart. _

"_You're on my legs," Ryan pointed out as he felt the similar numbness start to tingle in his toes. There was something sharp digging into his back and he didn't exactly relish being squashed like a sardine in a tin. _

_Troy muttered something inaudible and shifted to the side, still clutching at his skull. Ryan drew his legs up to his chest and scooted forwards._

"_Lemme look," her persisted, prying Troy's fingers away. Surely enough a purple lump was swelling on his head. Ryan prodded it gently with the tips of his fingers._

"_Does it hurt?" he asked. The other huffed and Ryan could almost hear Troy rolling his eyes. Grabbing his chance Ryan tipped Troy's head up so that their eyes met. _

**((End of flashback))**

Troy touched the fading bruise on his head, the twinge of pain expelled the blush on his cheeks. He knew what Ryan was really apologizing for, they both did, but neither uttered the black event.

"And I'm sorry for what me and the guys were gonna do," he said, hurriedly diverting the conversation away from such a dangerous topic. A small smirk picked at the side of Ryan's lips.

"what exactly were you going to do?" Troy opened his mouth to explain, "I know your friend was going to dump his lunch on me, but you looked like you wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground," Ryan laughed as the memory tickled him. Troy wrinkled his nose.

"I...uh we were going to humiliate you...I think," he explained awkwardly. Ryan prompted him on with an overly dramatic wave of his hand.

"Uh, well Chad was gonna spill the tray on you, and I was going to shove that ugly hat on your head...Then we wanted to take a photo and post it around school," Troy said, sounding more agonized by the second. He was more than surprised when Ryan laughed.

"Is that all?" he said, raising one eyebrow and pursing his lips. Troy nodded sheepishly.

"You couldn't think of anything worse?"

"Ye-...uh no, I guess not,"

Ryan stifled a laugh in his hands. They sat in a comfortable silence.

"That's very uncreative," he said disapprovingly, "Sharpay could easily do better than that," Troy resented that Ryan was insulting his intelligence, but said nothing. He knew he deserved much worse.

"In fact," Ryan said sneakily, casting a sideways glance at Troy, "I wonder what she'd say if she knew...it's so ...gay," The casual way Ryan said the word shocked him.

"I'm not gay!" he snapped immediately, slightly louder than he had planned. Ryan looked nothing more than amused.

"I never said you are," he smiled calmly. Troy's eyes widened. It was true know that he thought about it, a fierce embarrassment stained his cheeks again. He bit down on his lip, and tasted the metallic tang of blood.

"Are you gay?" Troy asked the first question that sprang to mind. Actually that question had been turning through his thoughts a lot lately, it was starting to annoy him. Ryan considered it thoughtfully.

"I...maybe, I'm not really sure," he admitted staring blankly at the trees. It was obvious neither of the two boys wanted to say anymore on the subject.

A cold chill passed through the clearing and rustled the trees, as if it was sharing whispered secrets with the world. Troy shivered.

"We should get back," he stood up and retrieved his borrowed shirt from the tree.

"School finished ages ago,"

The journey back was a quiet one. With the heaters on full blast in the truck Ryan was soon sweating. He wondered with exasperation how Troy could stand the heat. He discretely popped open the top two buttons on his shirt.

Troy stopped at the set of traffic lights they had passed earlier and reached down to tune the stereo in again. Ryan's abrupt question halted him;

"What are you going to tell them tomorrow?" he asked quietly, gazing out of the window. His elbow was propped up on the car's frame and his head was resting in his hand. Troy blinked in confusion.

"huh?" he grunted as the rest of the traffic sped off. He urged the truck to go a little faster.

"Well, we both disappeared at the same time, it's kinda obvious. They're gonna crucify you," Troy knew it was true, but Ryan's bluntness made him feel a surge of pity for the boy. He didn't quite realize how hard he'd made Ryan's life so far.

"I'll tell them the truth," Troy said, glancing in his rear view mirror as a motorbike sped very close behind. He swore under his breath and then smiled briefly. He couldn't see Ryan's face but he could feel the shock radiating from the passenger seat next to him.

"Anyway, it's Saturday tomorrow," Troy grinned and Ryan joined in despite himself.

"Where should I drop you off?" Troy asked sometime later, he slowed down considerably to take Ryan's directions into account.

"The bus stop, just up the road," he gathered his stuff from his feet and rested them in his lap.

"I'll get my mom to pick me up," he added, "It'll be very late by the time you drop me off and then get back to your house," he explained, already punching a number into his cell phone. The glare off the screen illuminated his face. Troy nodded, put-out by Ryan's abrupt need to depart.

He stopped stopped near Ryan's preferred drop off point but didn't cut the engine.

"I'll see you Monday," Troy said, "oh and I'll have your shirt dry-cleaned by then," Ryan laughed as he turned to get out of the car, struggling again with the door. He managed to shunt it open with his shoulder.

"You can keep it, I have loads more at home," Ryan got out into the chilly night air. Troy chuckled half heartedly.

"Thanks Troy," Ryan said and then abruptly slammed the door before Troy could say a word.

Feeling stupid he pulled off, heading for home.

**A/N: ****Uhh, well I warned you it would be short! consider it something to fill the time while I work on the next chapter. I suppose it's like a filler, only the content is quite important here. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**Until next time mes amies!**

**Much love!**

**Gabriella**


	6. Gay

**A/N:** **Okay guys I'm thinking of finishing the story within these next few chapters. I'm getting bored with it, and if I am, that definitely means you are. So will today be the day of the long awaited kiss?**

**Maybe...maybe not. Find out!**

"_Ryan!_" Sharpay hissed, poking her brother in the ribs with the end of her pink pen. He shifted himself over on the three seater couch and stared with determination at the TV. She jabbed him again, this time with her long witchy nails. He sighed.

"I'm trying to watch this, you know. Jeez!" he rolled his eyes and then continued to stare blankly at the massive screen. Sharpay studied him for a moment, "No you're not, you're not even paying attention," she pointed out slyly. She grabbed the remote off the arm of the sofa and muted the sound.

"Sharpay!" Ryan roared indignantly, making a grab for the remote. She stuffed it under a cushion and then rolled on top of it.

"Okay, what's this program about?" she said impatiently as Ryan made attempts to push her off the sofa. He stopped struggling and bit his lip.

"...Sharks?" He hadn't meant for it to sound like a question. Sharpay smirked and shook her head, he blond curls swinging in a messy disarray. She still had her pajamas on and it was nearing lunch time. Ryan knew Sharpay wasn't one for "the bed-head" look and wondered what she was playing at.

"Nuh-uh," she waved her hand at the television.

"It's about London in the 1940's actually," she laughed unkindly and folder her arms. Ryan pursed his lips, he wasn't the arguing type of person, and yet he wanted nothing more than to scream at his sister and clobber her over the head with a blunt object.

"Okay, okay. What do you want?" he said in a long steady exhale of frustrated air. How long had he been holding his breath? it felt like far too long, his lungs ached. Sharpay leaned in a little closer.

"Answer me this," she paused, fiddling with a loose thread on her pajama bottoms.

"Are you...Do you lo-like Troy?"

"No,"

"Why are you bothering with hi-"

"The bet," Ryan grunted. He sighed back into the sofa and held his hand out expectantly for the remote.

"Sharpay!" he reminded her, waving his empty hand about. She dug under the cushions and handed it to him silently. They both stared at the screen, neither concentrating or watching it at all.

After ten minutes both Ryan's and Sharpay's stomach rumbled at exactly the same time. They both glanced at each other and let out hoots of laughter.

"Go and make me something to eat Ry," Sharpay smiled manipulatively and stretched out like a cat on the sofa, pushing Ryan off his seat with her foot. He glared, but couldn't stay mad at her for long. He missed times like these. Him and Sharpay just lounging around the house all Saturday in their bed clothes, singing old songs and eating ice cream for breakfast.

He wanted those times back. So just like he was told Ryan went to the kitchen, and pottered, clanged and banged about in the cupboards. How hard could making toast and scrambled eggs be?

------

"Buggering Hell, For God's crapping sake!" Ryan cursed loudly as he stubbed his toe on the corner of the oven. He hoped comically over to the table and clattered down heavily into one of the four chairs. He groaned, and blew out a puff of air which ruffled his hair. He massaged his big toe gently.

The front door bell rang and there was a commotion from the hall way. He could hear Sharpay's gushing voice as she greeted somebody. It could have been the parcel delivery guy, Ryan knew his sister had a bit of a "thing" for the young postman.

He wiped his eyes in the crease of his elbow and hobbled over to the sink. The kitchen was heavy with smelly smoke by now, Ryan glared at his feeble attempt at breakfast. The eggs were welded to the frying pan, and were still letting off a terrible burnt stench. Four pieces of charcoaled bread lay abandoned on the counter top. Perhaps he had toasted them on a too high heat setting. It would have been easier to call the house keeping staff to cook the late breakfast, but it was their day off.

Usually Ryan's mother stayed at home on Saturdays , but she was away on business in Ibiza. Apparently Mr and Mrs Evans were thinking of expanding to more foreign countries.

Ryan was slightly ashamed of how much he still relied on his parents, he couldn't even survive one Saturday alone.

He washed his hands under the hot water tap, lathering rose scented soap between his fingers. That was the down side of living with two woman, everything must be pink and smell of chocolate coated flowers.

"I see you're absolutely terrible in the kitchen," Ryan froze and spun around, his hands still wet and dripping water on the floor. Troy was stood in the door way, he had a black t-shirt over his arm. He put it down carelessly on the table and joined Ryan by the sink. He squirted some soap onto his hands and splashed them under the water. He adjusted the cold-hot balance and then rinsed the suds off.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked , face blanching as Troy wrinkled his nose at the smoking pan of eggs still on the cooker. He snatched it up and slung it out of sight into a bowl of warm water. He would have put it in the dishwasher but there was too much food on it. However, food implied something edible, eating the mess he had created would be classed as man slaughter.

"Your shirt,...I just picked it up from the dry cleaners," he explained calmly, picking up one of the pieces of blackened bread with interest. Ryan wiped his hands in a fluffy kitchen towel and then threw it at Troy. He snagged it from the air without a glitch.

"Nice one," Ryan commented as he hastily cleaned crumbs off the unit with a damp dish cloth.

He fetched a clean bowl form the cupboard and cracked three more eggs into it. He whisked them with difficulty, why did cooking have to be so hard.

"You're doing it wrong," Troy noted, he grabbed the salt cellar from the table and sprinkled some into the bowl. He nudged Ryan out of the way and took over the preparing completely.

"Don't mix it like you're stirring a big cauldron," he whisked the mixture rapidly so that his hand was just a blur of color.

"It's all in the wrist," he said placidly , slowing down just briefly so Ryan could follow his technique.

"Get me some pepper, I've already put salt in," Ryan frowned. The cabinet the pepper was in was just above Troy's head. He leaned over, angling his body away from Troy so he didn't have to touch him when he got the seasoning.

"Here," Ryan said breathlessly, handing Troy the little ceramic bullet shaped bottle. Troy took it wordlessly and sprinkled it into the orangey yellow mixture. He gave it a quick whisk and then stood back to admire his work.

"There ,it's ready to cook now," he told Ryan, who was putting more bread in the toaster.

"Woah!" He cried, rushing forwards. Ryan looked alarmed.

"What?" he said warily, freezing solid with his hand poised in mid air. Troy slapped the bread out of his hand and adjusted one of the dials on the chrome toaster.

"You had it set on Seven!" he snapped. Ryan rose his eyebrow.

"And?"

"And?!" Troy repeated incredulously. "What do you mean 'and?' it'll burn straight away. Christ, I thought it was impossible to burn bread when you have a toaster. Apparently not. Only an idiot could succeed in-" Ryan thumped him on the arm. He folded his arms and stalked over to the cooker. He slammed another frying pan down onto the hob.

"Point taken-" he snapped. "-I'm a culinary retard, we can't all be Michelin star chef, you know." he growled jokily. Troy let out a bark of laughter.

"It hardly takes a genius," he mumbled, discreetly rubbing the area where Ryan had hit him.

Ryan grunted something inaudible and ignited blue flames on the hob. He picked up the egg mixture from the unit and made to tip it into the pan.

"And you have to stick some oil in there first," Troy said snidely, he was already grabbed the bottle and was drizzling it around the pan, it cracked sizzled and hissed when it touched the metal. He turned the heat down and then smiled up at  
Ryan who had sat on the counter.

"Better than watching Gordon Ramsey," Ryan teased with a returning smile.

--------

Ten minutes later, a box of eggs and a loaf of burnt bread, they sat down to fluffy scrambled eggs and golden toast with pools of molten butter.

They ate quickly and silently in the living room. Sharpay had to suddenly 'wash her hair' and rushed up stairs. Ryan suspected she was partly telling the truth. She would probably come back down in an hour or so, reeking of perfume and looking perfectly plastic. But he didn't plan for Troy to stay that long. That was until Mr Monopoly got involved. They were soon sprawled on the rug, with fake money all around them.

Troy groaned like he was personally in pain as he landed on Ryan's park lane, which was bearing a gigantic red hotel. He glanced down at his hand of money, knowing it wouldn't be enough to cover the cost. He had already sold all of his property, so that meant...He threw his money at Ryan fell onto his back with his arms extended to the heavens.

"You win! you fiend! You've cleared me out!" Troy wailed melodramatically.

"Are you happy now?"

"Eureka!" Shouted Ryan, also throwing his money into the air so that multi colored notes fluttered around. Troy chuckled, and then his laughter soon turned into hysterics. Ryan gave him an edgy look, but couldn't hold back a giggle of his own too. Troy snatched his blue hat from his head and put it on his own.

"I think I look sexy in this," he snickered in a sing song voice into an empty glass. Ryan snatched his hat back and glared.

"Ha ha," he said without an inch of humor.

"Oh come on Ry, you know I looked sexy," Troy prodded sarcastically, flattening his hair down with both hands. His head fell to the side on the rug so he could look at Ryan. He was surprised to see the other's face so close. Troy was reminded of that day at rehearsal when they had been forced to stage kiss. The thought still made his stomach flip sickly.

"Yeah, you did," Ryan said unthinkingly and then froze, looking as if he would like nothing more than to eat his words. They both looked at each other with wide eyes.

Troy looked so helpless, his hands were either side of his hips his eyes wide. Ryan sucked in a deep breath and flipped over, there was no time like the present, he had to get this damned kiss over with at some point. He expected Troy to freak out, scream at him and leave the house, but he held perfectly still looking Ryan right in the eyes the whole time. He felt unnerved as he tilted Troy's head up with his index finger. His palms were sweaty, his heart was going BANG BANG BANG against his ribs. He wondered if Troy could actually hear his racing pulse.

He kissed Troy, just a slight peck on the lips at first. It was rather like how one kissed their auntie. He pulled back to measure his reaction. Troy didn't utter ,he had his eyes closed ,his face was beet red and his breathing was labored.

Ryan closed back in with an inflated ego. He crushed his lips against Troy's , keeping his teeth out of the way .Ryan ran his tongue impatiently across Troy's lower lip. His hands started to wander up Troy's body. He lightly scraped his nail under his neck.

Troy responded much more enthusiastically than Ryan had expected. He found the roles had reversed as the much stronger boy rolled over and pushed his into the floor. Not once breaking their violent kiss. It turned into a battle of dominance to be the Alfa male. Ryan groaned as Troy roughly scraped his teeth across his neck.

A door slammed and they both sprang apart like somebody had tipped water over their heads.

Troy stared at Ryan, his eyes still raw with lust. His gaze traveled over his ruffled hair, swollen pink lips and the way two of his shirt buttons had been ripped off in the kiss.

"I gotta go." Troy said horsely. He pleaded to high heavens as he rushed to the door that Sharpay hadn't caught them in the act. If she knew, that meant the whole school would know.

He all but ran to his truck, fishing for his keys in his pocket. What would he tell Gabriella? It would kill her. He would ...tell her nothing, he would see her tonight, just like normal. They would kiss...No. That didn't sound right.

"Come on!" Troy shouted in frustration. His keys were nowhere in his pockets.

It didn't dawn on him that he might have left them in the house until Ryan was grimly by his side, keys dangling from one hand. Troy took them impatiently. He didn't glance at Ryan as he crunched the Truck into reverse and spun out of the drive way spraying gravel everywhere.

As he drove Troy wondered...

Was he gay?

**A/N: Okay...so. Interesting. Thanks Guys for your reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

**Much Love!**

**-Gabriella-**


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